If you have not yet seen The Ride Journal, I suggest you check it out. The UK-based project is a labor of love that provides a glimpse in bicycles and the lifestyle that you won’t find on Velo News, Cycling News or Bicycling magazine.
I had a chance to do a Q & A recently with the editor Philip Diprose, who was kind enough to share his love of cycling and reasons for launching The Ride Journal. You can download a free copy of this beautiful publication here. Issue 2 is being produced and should be available shortly. The print version is almost sold-out in advance, which tells me that this publication has won an instant fan base. Hope you enjoy like I did. Here’s the BikeCrave Q & A with Philip.
Q: How long have your ridden?
A: It’s hard to define how long I’ve ridden. I had a bike since I was a kid, I got an “all-terrain bike” in 1989, and since then it’s just been a steady descent/ascent into becoming a bike fanatic. More bikes and more skinned knuckles followed. Plus all the usual cycling landmarks – fixed a flat, changed components, had first crashes, adjusted old headset/ bottom bracket, went on cycling weekend, broke bone, stripped bike, rebuilt bike, went on cycling holiday, got measured for a custom frame, rode a century. All the usual things that make cyclists cyclists. Oh, and started The Ride Journal with a couple of friends.
Q: What’s your favorite style of bike (cross, road, fixed-gear, mountain, city, etc.)?
A: Why choose a favourite song when there are so many to good songs to choose from? The same goes for bikes – moods and cravings change. Having come from a mountain bike background (where I raced very badly in the early 90’s), I then bought a road bike to commute on. It was a single-speed and it began my love of the one gear. I now have a geared road bike, a single-speed/fixed road bike, a single-speed mountain bike, a full-suspension mountain bike, a single-speed cyclo-cross bike and a geared cyclo-cross bike. A bigger flat would probably mean even more bikes. All styles offer a different kind of fun and all riding is good.
Q: Do you ride year-round (I assume you’re based in the UK)?
A: In the UK, if you waited till the weather was good you’d only get a couple of rides per year. And your form wouldn’t be too good by then. So yes, I do ride all year. If you know the trails are going to be sloppy and cold you just need to take warm clothes and maybe a hip flask to keep things happy.
Q: How can other cyclists spread the joy of cycling to non-cyclists?
A: This is difficult. I think most non-cycling friends of mine see my cycling as something to be viewed with suspicion. I’m not sure if doing long rides or races in the horrific weather does much to convert people to the cause. It’s better for people to be encouraged by a “normal” person who rides, rather than me evangelizing about the beauty of a 3Rensho frame, or the joys of a super-steep single-track descent that only just let me through with my life.
Q: Do you have any causes (social, environmental, philanthropic) that you support?
A: At The Ride Journal we give a big amount of our small profits to charity. We’re lucky enough to have day jobs, which means that we don’t have to make money from the journal. As we can’t afford to pay our great contributors, we decided that it would be right to give as much as we could to charity. Those charities change per issue.
Q: Favorite brand/make/model of bike?
A: I think I will always love thin-tubed steel bikes. They can be something like a lugged road bike or a well-brazed mountain bike frame. The fact that small framebuilders seem to be increasing is a good thing in my book. Power to the artisans.
Q: Favorite current day rider and why?
A: From Downhill world it would probably be Steve Peat. Sheffield steel and still winning even after all these years of racing. From Road, probably Jens Voigt. Powerhouse riding, just getting on with the job and helping other riders get the glory he’s set them up for.
Q: Favorite retired rider and why?
A: John Tomac. No one else rode mountain bikes with the style he did. He could turn his hand from super fast cross-country to even faster downhilling, a true all-rounder. Pictures of him in U.S. bike magazines in the early 90’s inspired me to ride in a way I’ve never been able to.
Q: Favorite professional bike race, and why?
A: Paris-Roubaix has the history, the suffering, the monster cobbles, the weather, the fans. What’s not to love?
Q: A specific ride you want to do before you die?
A: Where to start? I’d love to ride the classic Alps climbs from the Tour. I’d also like to ride the single-track in Oregon. Road-riding in Pyrenees. Mountain biking in northern Spain. There are many places if the UK that I still need to get to. So many rides… so little free time.
Philip Diprose
Editor
www.theridejournal.com
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Way cool. Bikecrave is becoming a crave. Little reminders on twitter also jar my attention as I am usually distracted by work. Starting on heart rate training soon with more detailed specifics. Quality bike forums like bikecrave make me want to ride. Inspirational.
Rickie
Hey Rickie, thanks for the note. Glad you’re getting int HR training. Another way to measure results. Did a ride recently with a colleague who has a power meter. Of course, the whole time I kept asking “how many watts now?” Ride on.